Propaganda:- In the Third Reich

Means of Propaganda

Radio

LiteraturePress

Film

Posters

Sport

Art

Painting

Sculpture

Architecture

Social PoliciesYouth Movements

Parades

Schooling

Paul Josef Goebbels•He was born in the Rhineland to poor Catholic, manual worker parents.• He had a clubfoot.• Became a Dr of Philology. 1922 joined Nazi Party, because he liked Gregor Strassers radical views. •1926 sided with Hitler and became a more powerful Nazi, and became Gauleiter of Berlin. •1927 founded the paper ‘Der Angriff’ •1928 Propaganda chief for the Nazis.•1930 Elected to Reichstag•Once described as “bitter and cynical”.•He was known as Hitler’s faithful servant.•His propaganda didn’t mirror his own life; he encouraged the traditional life, while having affairs himself.•In 1945 he encouraged Hitler and Eva Braun to kill themselves, then poisoned his children, shot his wife and himself. “If the day should ever come when we [the Nazis] must go, if some day we are compelled to leave the scene of history, we will slam the door so hard that the universe will shake and mankind will stand back in stupefaction...” – J. Goebbels

The structure and organisation of Propaganda in Nazi Germany.

Press

The Government controlled all those involved in the press like journalists, editors and publishers. They were made compulsory members of co-ordinating bodies. The government kept a list of all ‘acceptable’ editors and journalists. It was treason to print anything anti-Nazi.

“Think of the press as a great keyboard on which the government can play.” – J. Goebbels

Sculpture & Art•Sculpture is easily accessible to people, so the Nazis put it all over public buildings. •1934, all public buildings were to be adorned with sculptures.•Individualistic work gave way to works conveying Nazi virtues.• In perfect but lifeless body shapes. It was used to emphasise the Nazi ideology of the Aryan superiority.•Hitler’s favourite sculptors were: Arno Breker & Josef Thorak, they were given vast studios to turn out heroic German figures. •In 1937, two parallel art exhibitions were held in Munich, one was the Exhibition of Great German Art, the other, The Exhibition of Degenerate Art. The first displayed 6,000 works that represented “true German perfection” in one way or another.•The exhibition of Degenerate Art displayed 5,000 works which were labelled as the Work of Degenerates. These ‘degenerates’ included Van Gogh, Picasso and Gauguin. After these works were toured around Germany to show the German people how terrible people outside the Volksgemeinschaft were, they were either destroyed, sold or kept by Goering.

Radio & Film

A Poster from Jud Süss (above)‘The Führer Speaks’ – Paul Mathias Padua (below)

•Radio was state regulated since 1925 after the creation of the Reich Radio Company, the government owned 51% of the shares in the company and therefore controlled content.•1933 – Nine regional broadcast companies were taken over by Reich governors.•1934 – Nazis establish a unified radio system, purge it of ‘hostile elements’.•Radio was mainly used for light entertainment but also broadcasted Hitler’s speeches, with 70% of households owning a radio, it meant Hitler could spread his message easily.•Key speeches were announced by sirens and it was compulsory for all work to stop so people could listen to the loudspeaker. • From 1933 onwards film companies ‘inadvertently’ became state controlled after the RMVP bought up shares and financed film. The state controlled both film companies and the content of the films. •1942 – All film companies nationalised under Ufi (Ufa Film GmbH)•Goebbels made himself responsible for approving every film made in Germany and approving those that were imported.•Films were used to convey ideals to the population such as anti-Semitism, films were often rated as “valuable for youth” etc. •They were mainly used to reinforce German ideals and maintain support.

Photographs & Posters

•Hitler and Goebbels both believed in the power of photos, so much so that Hitler had a personal photographer -Heinrich Hoffmann.• Hitler used to practise poses and the best images were reproduced and put everywhere, even the inside of cigarette packets.• The Nazis used posters during the Weimar Republic to gain attention but after this they were used to create an impression of patriotism and deepen support.

Sport, Parades, Rallies•Rallies and mass meeting were used to entice ‘bystanders’ to the Nazi party. •They were carefully choreographed so that they seemed precise, and created the desire to belong to something so impressive. •The use of uniforms, lights, architecture, music and colour was all carefully planned and as Goebbels once said could “transform a little worm into part of a large dragon”.• Along with Rallies the Nazis created many new Festival days. •On these days rallies would be held and failure to support them might be reported to the Gestapo.•Sport was used carefully to emphasise the idea of Aryan superiority.•The government co-ordinated the sporting bodies such as the Hitler youth and DAF under the Reichssportfuhrer.•Activities were believed to be the best way to gain, maintain and honour physical prowess. As such the government made a huge effort to make the 1936 Olympics a propaganda success. •Germany headed the table of medal winners at the Olympics, however their ideal of superiority was rocked by the success of African-American Jesse Owens who beat the German athlete to claim gold in the 100m sprint, among other events.

Literature, Theatre, Music•May 1933, the first organised book burning in Berlin. 20,000 books both fiction and non-fiction were burnt, to cleanse Germany.•Famous novelists such as Thomas Mann (The Magic Mountain) and Stefan Zweig (Fantastic Night and Other Short Stories), went into exile. Others stayed but were banned from publishing. Authors were expected to promote Nazi ideals.•Hitler’s ‘Mein Kampf’ was the best selling book in Nazi Germany, it sold 6 million copies.•The experimental drama of the 1920’s came to an abrupt end under the Nazi regime. Officially approved drama concentrated on ‘glorious’history and light entertainment. •New forms of Drama began to spring up. An example was Thingspielen – assembly. It was performed outside in impromptu amphitheatres and glorified the pagan past.•Music by negroes, experimental musicians and Jews were all banned because it was deemed degenerate. •Hitler’s favourite composers Wagner, Strauss, Bruckner were all used widely in public announcements and rallies to encourage people to follow the approved music.

Architecture•This was the form of Propaganda Hitler was proudest of, as it fitted perfectly into his idea of the Thousand Year Reich.•Hitler favoured a neo-classical monumental style. He once said “Our enemies, and our followers must realise that these buildings strengthen our authority”. •Hitler worked closely with official Nazi architect Albert Speer to plan the re-building of 30 major German cities and Berlin which he planned to rename Germania.•The Germans even competed at Architecture, in 1937 at the Paris International Exhibition of Arts and Technology Albert Speer created a 65-metre tower in competition with the Soviet one, it was built directly opposite it.